So there it was again: Evil Rutgers. It was there in all its unbridled glory during the second half Tuesday night, until the Scarlet Knights did something they haven't had a very good history of doing lately -- they made it go away. The 68-65 win over George Washington won't go down in the books as anything monumental or memorable, but what it did do -- despite its flaws -- was show Rutgers that winning these types of games are what winning teams do.

1. Taking away this game as a positive? Really?
Think about this: Rutgers was up by 15 points with just under three minutes to play in the first half. From that point on, the Scarlet Knights were outscored by the Colonials, 45-33. They were out-rebounded, didn't capitalize on opportunities, squandered possessions. And still they were able to come away with a win. Now, does this mean Rutgers has turned the corner? No. Does this mean they are a different team? Hardly. But confidence has to start brewing somewhere and there was a different vibe in the home locker room afterwards, one which seems to suggest that this group understood it played a very flawed game -- and that it still managed to find a way to win. This is something we thought has been missing from this group since last season: Appreciating just how hard it is to win a college basketball game. Rutgers too often takes winning these non-conference games for granted and situations like Saturday night against Iona occur. But by looking themselves in the mirror, saying, "Well, we still stunk in some areas ... but did enough good things to not wilt," the Scarlet Knights took a big step in the maturity department.

2. But couldn't these types of agita games be avoided if Rutgers simply did what it needs to do for 40 minutes?
Oh, absolutely. Look, we're not absolving Rutgers of any blemishes it may have so far this season -- far from it. This team has a consistency problem, which head coach Mike Rice has talked about from Day 1 of official practices this year. This team can play hard for stretches, even halves, but has yet to put together a full, 40-minute game which they can point to as the template for getting things done. It's great that Rutgers felt it learned a lesson by not folding up shop and letting George Washington just walk out with a win after the Colonials caught fire. But Rutgers is going to keep finding itself back at square one unless it takes games like these and uses them to get the full 40-minute product.

3. It seemed Rutgers got into its bit of trouble when it moved away from the press in the second half. What was up with that?
It's not quite as cut-and-dry as that, but the decision to abandon ship on the press against the fidgety and inexperienced GW guards cost Rutgers a shot at having a much easier night in all likelihood. Rutgers had excellent results using a version of the 2-2-1 press in the first half. (For those non-basketball junkies, here's a quick tutorial on the 2-2-1.) It jarred the Colonials guards into 13 turnovers -- nine of which came off of steals by Rutgers. It also produced a litany of deflections, which kept the game at a scrambled pace and away from the style that George Washington prefers -- getting the ball inside. But late in the first half and early into the second, GW started breaking the press and getting easy baskets down low. The press break was big, but the reason for easy baskets near the hoops was because Rutgers was either playing with Wally Judge and his foul trouble or playing without him and his size and length. So Rice decided to abandon ship on the 2-2-1, allowing for GW to go back to dictating tempo and working the ball inside to Isaiah Armwood. Once Rutgers decided to speed things back up after GW took its first lead of the game at the 12:06 mark, the advantage swung back towards the Scarlet Knights. For a team that is still figuring out its defensive identity, the 2-2-1 seemed to fit Rutgers' personnel and style of play. It'll be interesting to see if it makes a comeback this season.

GAME BALLSKadeem Jack (12 pts. 6 reb., 2 blks.): Hard to see a scenario where Rutgers wins this game with Wally Judge in foul trouble and without Jack's first major contributions as a Scarlet Knights. He looked fluid on offense and really helped solidify the block on defense. If he can get his form down from the free-throw line, we might see the player who was the centerpiece of that heralded recruiting class.Dane Miller (10 pts., 4 reb., 4 blks.): For the second game in a row, he's contributed some big, high-energy plays late in a tight game. His rebound with 17 seconds left and Rutgers up three, went a long way to sealing the W.Isaiah Armwood (18 pts., 7 pts., 4 blks.): Boy, what Villanova wouldn't do to have this kid back. The former Wildcat forward put on a clinic for what the Scarlet Knights' interior bigs can expect come Big East season. Armwood was playing Big Boy Basketball in the second half and should be a serious contender for all-Atlantic 10 honors this year.

SUICIDESWally Judge (2 pts., 1 reb., 3 TOs): Mike Rice said it afterwards -- Judge was in a funk from the opening tip and never got on track. He picked up two quick fouls in the first three minutes and was a non-factor the rest of the night.Mike Poole (2 pts., 3 reb., 3 stl.): Saturday night, Poole looked like he was back to his old self. Wrong. Tuesday was more of the same of what we've seen this season. On one sequence in the second half, he took an ill-advised 3-pointer, ended up with a mid-range jumper and missed it and then on the following possession, had another wide-open mid-range shot. He passed it up and ended up making a turnover. He needs to put bad possessions out of his head more quickly.Jerome Seagears (2 pts., 2 stl., 1 reb.): The mystery continues. He had a nice sequence in the first half with a steal and then an assist, which led us to believe he might have found something. He didn't. And worse: A second-straight sub-two-shot night suggests he's now not looking for his shots.

NEWS, NOTES AND QUOTESThe News
After being removed from the starting lineup for Saturday's game against Iona for a violation of team rules, Wally Judge was back Tuesday night. Aside from the foul trouble, Judge's minutes and role were the same. It appears that whatever occurred before the Iona game was a one-time deal.

The Dec. 28 game against in-state rival, Rider, has been moved from 7:30 to 3 p.m., so as to accommodate fans ability to watch the football team in the Russell Athletic Bowl at 5:30 p.m. "We felt it was very important that our fans attending the basketball game also had the opportunity to watch the Russell Athletic Bowl against Virginia Tech," Rutgers athletic director Tim Pernetti said in a statement. "This is a significant day for Rutgers and we want all of our fans to enjoy it. Moving the basketball game involved logistical challenges, but it was the right decision for our fan base."

Tuesday's game was also the first home game for first-year Director of Basketball Operations, Josh Loeffler since the birth of his first child, Alison Mae Loeffler. Both baby and Loeffler's wife, Helen, are doing fine at home. Many congratulations and best wishes from The Tip In.

The NotesAfter out-rebounding Iona on Saturday night by 27, Rutgers was spanked on the boards Tuesday night by a 45-29 margin. It was worse on the offensive glass where the Scarlet Knights were out-boarded, 20-11. ... The only player with multiple offensive rebounds was Kadeem Jack, with three. Every other Rutgers player had just one. ... Despite forcing George Washington into 23 turnovers, Rutgers was only able to convert that into 17 points. ... After having a terrific amount of ball movement and sharing on Saturday, Rutgers fell into a hole. The Scarlet Knights had only 11 assists on 25 baskets. ... The 15 steals were the most by Rutgers since last December's game against LSU, when RU had 17. ... Rutgers also was able to block 10 Colonial shots. Coming into the game, the team had only blocked 32 shots. ... Rutgers is now 23-18 against George Washington and 17-3 against the Colonials at the Rutgers Athletic Center.

The Quotes
"I'm a huge field goal percentage defense guy and I've always been one of the top five teams in the Big East. I was always first or second at my previous job. I really pay attention to if you can stop someone. Then you have a chance. The amount of toughness in a possession -- as they make more passes, you have to stay locked in and we don't do that. We make silly mistakes. Again, I am harping defense because rebounding is a big part of it and we didn't finish a lot of possessions tonight."
-- RICE on the problems with his defense right now

"You've got to give them credit for their defense, because it's not like we could just get by them on the dribble. I thought the game was lost for us when we were up one and kind of had momentum and kept getting stops and kept trying to throw it long. And we threw it right to the other team, like three times. That wasn't all our freshmen either. Those were some of our experienced guts trying to make a home run play and it's just not there. We don't have home run playmakers, so we just have to control that ball and relax."
-- MIKE LONERGAN on GWs struggles handling Rutgers' 2-2-1 press

"I think we would have lost this game last year. ... We would have just folded last year."
-- MACK on how this year has changed the outcome of tight games

"Ten blocks and 15 steals? That's big. I think it was just us not getting rebounds. If we had gotten more offensive rebounds and finish possessions, we probably would've won by double-digits."
-- MILLER on Rutgers getting in its own way at times

"We talked about this a lot last year, a lot of the guys having 'sureness.' We try to make the right play. We don't shy away from things. And that's something that last year, we didn't have. We gave up a lot of leads and lost at the end. We just know that if we don't blow them out by 20, we can get the one-point wins."
-- JACK on Rutgers' maturity in tight games

MIKE RICE JACKET TOSS
This season we'll be trying to keep a tally of how quickly the Rutgers coach loses his jacket.Actual jacket removal time: 7:38 p.m.Elapsed game time: 2 minutes, 27 seconds.Total 2012-13 elapsed game time wearing jacket: 11:34

RIDICULOUS STAT OF THE GAME
48.5
Even though the game didn't go as far south as it did Saturday night at Madison Square Garden for the Iona game, Rutgers still had a problem when it came to consistency on the defensive end. While the Scarlet Knights didn't squander a 22-point lead in the lead 10 minutes again, they did blow a 15-point lead against George Washington in a short window. Once Rutgers reached its 15-point cushion with 3:27 left to play in the first half, Rice's team pulled back the reins on the press. Instead, they played off the ball and the result was a 3-for-4 shooting clip from the floor to close the first half. GW closed out the game with a 48.5 shooting percentage. Not bad ... for the opposition.